Cyclone Laurence

The talk of old Broome town is 'Cyclone Laurence', a category 5 cyclone currently sweeping its way through the Kimberley in Western Australia.

One Wicked Camper is due to be picked up from the Broome depot tomorrow, and the customers are flying in tomorrow to collect it - but with Broome airport closed after the last plane flies out tonight, will they even arrive in town?

The stern advice from the Tenderspot Butcher's (who work next door to the Broome Wicked depot) is - "If it gets to a red alert, stock up on alcohol - because the liquor stores will shut down".

Apparently Broome will be on a red alert at noon tomorrow.

Free Parking Info

We're often asked "Where can I park for free?". Usually it depends on the season; the town; the circumstances. I once met a couple in Perth who bought a Wicked van, drove it around for 270 days and only paid for parking once - unbelievable! Byron Bay and Cairns are notorious for their anti-free-camping laws, whilst Broome rangers lighten up during the wet season.

We had some lovely customers drop us an email today about free camping areas in Torquay, Victoria. Here are their tips:

"Local council fines people who sleep in cars / vans / campers along the foreshore. Whilst it is fantastic to drift off to sleep and wake up with the view that's there, it puts a nasty taste in your mouth when you're penalised for it!

There are a few places within Torquay where it is safe to stop for the night: behind the Uniting Church in Beales St., west of the highway down near the creek turn right past the catholic church, then left - not the service rd - and follow it down and around) and probably any of the little streets just 1 block back off the Esplanade. There are no toilet/shower facilities, but neither does the ranger get you (excuses might include power nap / been up and had a walk (as long as you're fully dressed and quick)/whatever else you can think of quickly)!

The by-laws officers (2 over summer, 1 rest of the year) patrol between Torquay and Lorne, so there is no set day he's in the same town at the same time... predictably unpredictable.

Hope you pass this on to your users".

Thanks so much for your feedback!

Rainbow Serpent Festival

Congrats to Shan Hilton for winning our double pass to the Solar Music Festival!

Wicked Campers have more summer festival tickets up for grabs. This time they're for the Rainbow Serpent Festival which is held in Beaufort, Victoria. Its an internationally recognised, 3-day festival - a multifaceted weekend of dance, colour, expression and celebration.

To enter the competition, answer a simple question and submit your details here.

Win tickets to the Solar Music Festival!

Its summertime!!! Yessss. And that means all the summer music festivals will be making their way around Australia. Wicked Campers are embracing the Summer Festival season and are giving away double passes to the Solar Music Festival, a music festival held in Melbourne in early January.

You can win tickets by answering a simple question here.

You can book your accommodation and transportation all in one here.

On an aside - received a truly Wicked experience email from a customer who returned their van last month:

"Two young tattooed and pierced girls went for an adventure in the desert. We obtained gainful employment for a morning and helped a farmer break in a horse and were paid in beer. We saw a desert, we saw some big f*ck off rocks, we slept under more stars than someone from the UK has ever seen before.

We saw road-trains overtake us, we fell in a billabong and suffered through 45 degree heat. Hotter than my friend had ever felt before. We had drinks bought for us by amorous tour guides and I got to show my friend what Australia is really all about".

A Wicked mention at the Arias!

The 2009 Aria's (Australian Record Industry Awards) were on last night and Wicked Campers even got a mention!

'The Doctor' from national radio station Triple J stepped up to announce the winner of the '2009 Blues and Roots album of the year'. Prior to announcing the winner The Doc stated that "...most of the artists in this category start their careers strumming a guitar in the back of a Wicked van".

What a sensational way to sum up the Wicked culture!

I'm not sure if this bloke is a former Wicked customer, but congratulations to CW Stoneking for winning the Blues and Roots ARIA with his album "Jungle Blues".

This is just a start for Wicked entering the Australian Music world. An unreal foot-tapping country music song written by Rob Imeson titled the "Wicked Van Blues" will soon be released - click here to play the song on Myspace.

Customer pick-ups?

Wicked Campers is no ordinary organisation – as a fun, laidback company there are no set rules on how to talk/engage with customers; as long as the customer leaves the exchange happily.

Here’s an example of one Brisbane ROADTRIP PLANNER’s chats with a customer. So if you’re bored and want to exchange a bit of banter, give her a call on 1800 24 68 69. Warning – she may try sell you a campervan too!

(disclaimer: names have been changed to hide identities)

Conversations between ROADTRIP PLANNER and WICKED CUSTOMER

ROADTRIP PLANNER wrote:

This is my email address if you have anymore queries – save yourself a massive phone bill. And it also allows me a reply of more than 300 characters! So we can like chat…and share life stories…plot world domination and shit. Miss you already haha. ROADTRIP PLANNER


From: WICKED CUSTOMER

Cheers, you’re a star :) Im off to bed though. I sent the info onto the boys and hope to get this sorted out asap, as I dont want to think about it anymore...my head is beginning to hurt.

Anyway ROADTRIP PLANNER, really appreciate your help. It’s fun to talk to ya :) hahahaha. I hope all the Oz girls are as fun as you :)

Take care and enjoy your Friday (almost the weekend!!!!)

ROADTRIP PLANNER wrote:

No need for stress, just make an executive decision on this one…just BOOK IT…There’s only one van, just grab it.

And no, not all Oz girls are fun. The government, actually Ruddy himself, employs me to infiltrate the tourism industry and be bubbly, charming and downright hilarious so as to create the illusion of a fun nation. In fact, you guys probably shouldn’t even bother with Aussie girls at all while you’re over here.

Just kidding, you’ll have a blast! Book the damn van!
Goodnight!!

Kind Regards, ROADTRIP PLANNER.


The WICKED CUSTOMER will be dropping his van off in Brisbane. Will sparks fly when he visits the ROADTRIP PLANNER? Will he return his van naked? Stay posted for all the Wicked details!

Broome Wicked Camper depot - FAQ's

We receive an assortment of questions from Wicked Campers customers at the Broome depot. To save time, we've posted up a FAQ sheet. Here's a sample of questions and answers...

Q. Where can I park for free?
A. Anywhere, just watch out for rangers and police officers. And axe murderers.

Q. How long does the gas bottle last?
A. Til the flame runs out.

Q. How much fuel does the camper use?
A. The slower you go, the better fuel economy you’ll have. We suggest driving at 80km/hr (in 5th gear, or if you’re in an automatic make sure you’re driving in overdrive).

Q. What happens if I see a kangaroo on the road?
A. Run the f*cker down! Don’t swerve for kangaroos.

Q. Where is the cheapest fuel?
A. What is cheap fuel?

Q. What happens if I breakdown and I don’t have phone reception?
A. You’ll work it out.

Q. How do I sleep in the van if its too hot?
A. Drink til you pass out. Alternatively pickup a Broome local and sleep in their air-conditioned room. Or you can find a tree and some shade (hint – the sun sets in the west).

Q. What if I don’t like my van design?
A. Harden the f*ck up.

Q. Are you the cheapest in town?
A. Yes. And the dirtiest.

(and yes, this FAQ is a piss-take...we're happy to help with any customer queries!).

Aboriginal art-inspired Wicked Campers (thanks to Music Outback Foundation)

The Music Outback Foundation uses music and arts based programs to help improve education outcomes on remote Indigenous communities. Their annual event Mobfest Tanami is a three day festival held at Ti Tree School in the Northern Territory, 200km north of Alice Springs.

At Mobfest, schools come together to share their achievements in music and songwriting, enjoying all sorts of workshops during the day, and performing on the main stage at night. This year Wicked Campers was happy to help out with the cause by loaning five campers for students to paint up with some very unique artwork! Even the Ti Tree Elders got involved and painted one of the vans with beautiful ceremonial designs. These vans are now back on the road travelling around the country so keep your eye out for them!

For more information about Music Outback Foundation visit www.musicoutback.com.

Stories from the road

Here are some 'roadtrip highlights' from Wicked Campers customers who returned their vans in October.

We were staying at Eagle Pt caravan park (right on the lake in VIC). I made dinner, and took the Wikid table that came with the camper, out on the peer, with dinner and champagne. The mrs sat down and I popped the question, then the cork on the champagne! Best week of our lives. We got some amazing photos of the van in front of the great ocean rd, etc. We're looking to hire another one for our honey moon!!!

Just me and the missus went from perth to coral bay. Was just a wicked trip, loved the van. haha it was almost like we were part of a community every time we passed a wicked van, we were tooting and yelling an waving. Just an awesome trip, not nearly as difficult as i thought it would have been. Wished i was still on the road!

We just had a really chilled week of driving hey.. There was one incident of being caught shagging on the beach.. And don't bother visiting the Big Oyster ever..

My besty n i loved our road trip!!! We went to byron, tweed heads, bilambil, suffock park and the gold coast stopping where ever looked good to have a surf n sun bake we were only gone for 8 days n were spewing we had to come home! on the drive around the place we saw other Wicked vans n had to party with the other campers as they were in a partying mood just like us!!! we loved it!!!Thanks heaps ur all Wicked!!! much love peace out!!! xXx

We had a great trip, the van went like a bomb, and we would happily use Wicked again and refer others to your company

We got to bathurst for the V8's but the police would not let the camper up to the top of mountain.They said the rego had only two weeks left and all cars with one month left on rego were not allowed up the top.(People buy old cars and smash them up and leave them there apparently!.) I showed them it was a hire car and still said no.! This is 4pm. We went back into bathurst to avis car rental and they let us use there fax. We then rang wicked who faxed the new rego threw 10 minutes before closing time 5pm at Avis. We would have had to leave the camper at the bottom in car park and hire another car to get our gear to the camp spot on top off mountain .Thanks again Wicked and Avis car rental you really came thew at the right time.

Our last night in the van was in Cairns. Cairns is a very campervan un-friendly city. Every other town we stopped in (from Sydney to Cairns), we were able to park near the beach and no one bothered us. Cairns has signs of "no camping" EVERYWHERE. So, we eventually found a quiet steet in a neighborhood just outside town. Dead asleep we were awoken by the sound and lights of a train barreling towards us. Could it be? Did we really park ON a railroad track? It sure seemed like it with the extreme loudness of the whistle and the lights blarring into the back window. But, fortunately, we were not on the track, but only about 50 yards from it. What a way to wake up!!

Goaaaaalll!

Wicked want to place as many vans as we possibly can on the road in South Africa during the World Cup in 2010.

We're still trying to think up a good one-liner to promote the cause on our banner advertisements.

Quote of the moment is: "The road to the 2010 football world cup starts in a Wicked Camper".

Other suggestions have been:

• Win, lose or draw - at the end of 90 minutes at least you can say you were in a Wicked Camper
• The hands of God drive a Wicked Camper
• A Wicked Camper - its Beckham's second best accessory
• Pele drives a Wicked Camper
• A Wicked Camper - its like Old Trafford on 4 wheels.

Wouldn't it be fantastic if Becks could be the face of Wicked? Maybe it could look something like this?

Van Safety

Congratulations! You've booked - or you're looking to book a Wicked van for an upcoming roadtrip and want to make sure you're in safe hands.

I spent an afternoon discovering what safety checks each Wicked van was given before it was hired out. Extensive safety checks are done on all Wicked vans - these checks include: tyres, brake pads and seat belts, oil and water, battery and brake fluid, lights and hand brake, doors and windows/locks and key, fuel filter, gearbox and diff, management system and a roadtest.

Safety of our Wicked customers on the roads is our number one priority. View the video to get a visual!

Sawatdee Kaa

Apologies for the lack of blogging. I've just arrived back from an amazing 10 days spent in Thailand. What a country. Fantastic friendly beautiful people, brilliant service, scrumptious food, stunning scenery and oh, so so cheap!

The Thailand quarters of Wicked now has a set address, so in no-time you'll be able to join the constant peak-hour traffic and crazy 'anything goes' driving over there. Driving a Wicked van still beats riding an elephant - I thought it would be glamorous to ride one...but I left the experience ride feeling bruised, battered, and happy to be back on the ground :)


"I'd rather be in a Wicked Camper"


Unfortunately this is a quick entry as I'm still catching up with work - but I promise a decent article in the next couple of days. I guess the most exciting news from the last week has been the Wicked exposure of our company on nationwide prime-time television!

Eli Wolfe transforms a Wicked Camper

Eli Wolfe, a touring musician and his partner Dominique (both from Sydney) flew to Broome late last week to commence Eli's west-coast tour. He's using a Wicked Camper as his gig vehicle and spent a couple of afternoons in the Broome depot painting up this gem of a van - here's the video!

Click here to view Eli's tour dates on his 'Magic Honey Tour'.

Who paints the vans?

One of the questions most asked when I tell people I work for Wicked is 'Who paints the vans'? .
Charley Boorman on his tv show 'By Any Means' mistakenly said a group of Harley Davidson motorbike junkies did the paint job. Sounds wicked but its not true.

Mrs Wicked, an artist and one of the Wicked creators originally did the artwork, and then a guy named Eric was brought on board for his spraypainting talents. Eric has recently left Wicked to start his own Tattoo Studio business.

The new painter on the block is Guy, who's job has just gotta rival Tourism Qld's 'best job in the world'. Based in Brisbane, Guy has flown all the UK, Thailand and New Zealand painting up Wicked vans. He also travels extensively around Australia. More recently, he's been painting up depot and backpacker hostel walls with 'Wish you were here' text emblazoned on them.

Check out a video of the bloke spraypainting the Trogdor van here.

A lot of the ideas for the paint jobs come from Mr Wicked; but anyone can submit their own design ideas! If you rent a van for 60 days or more/purchase a van from Brisbane you can even elect to have your own paint job on your Wicked Camper! Click here for details.

Join the Wicked Cult!

A big shout-out to Budi, our IT guy this week. I've been hounding him with questions everyday re. the new website and he's been a big help!

We've now updated our affiliate site on the new webpage, so sign up today. You can earn a neat 10% commission for any Wicked Campers booking made through your link. That's right - passive income...you can sit on your butt and watch the cash flood in.

We also have a new section on our website that allows people to subscribe to The Wicked Gospel - a 'wicked happenings' e-newsletter sent out to subscribers every couple of months that keeps them up to date with all the latest roadtrip ideas, specials, competitions and travel news around Australia and the rest of the Wicked world.

In other news...I had a little scare this morning when Sister Sam sent me a text message, saying Wicked were in trouble with the ACCC for not advertising all charges up-front. It was the first I'd heard of it but I let out a sigh of relief shortly after a quick Google search....and discovered the company in trouble was 'Wicked Travel' - not Wicked Campers.

Seen the new fridge?

As I've mentioned in an earlier blog post, its been an extremely busy week up here in Broome.

So busy that you can make people believe things that they wouldn't usually believe.

Yesterday I came back to work after hours and discovered a new fridge sitting in the waiting room. I assumed that Bob, the landlord next door was the culprit. I went over to visit Bob after work and yep, I was right - Bob had kindly delivered us another fridge!

This morning Chris and I walk into work and the conversation goes something likes this:
Chris: Wow! have you seen this new fridge?
Me: Umm... Chris? Are you feeling ok? That fridge has been there since Wednesday.
Chris: What? No way
Me: Yes. Bob even asked you where you wanted it - and you told him to place it behind the door!
Chris: Ahh...I don't remember (looks quizzically at the fridge).

5 mins later Bob's wife walks in and Chris asks her when the fridge arrived. Over Chris' shoulder I mouth 'WED-NES-DAY' over to her, which she promptly replies to Chris. He can't believe it!

Bob walks in after another 5 mins and Chris asks him the same question. Bob says "Mate, I asked you where you wanted it. You even offered to help me bring it in!".

Chris is looking super confused at this stage. Moments later, a German couple return their Wicked van. I overhear the conversation. Chris says "Guys...I've been so busy, I didn't even realise this new fridge had been sitting in my waiting room for three days!".

It took all my strength not to laugh. Ahh, what stress can do to a person...

Leave town in a Wicked Camper

After a quiet week in Broome last week, things seem to have exploded here. The temperature is heating up and everyone is evacuating Broome!

In Wicked news this week:

- The new Wicked Campers Australia website is up - same address; different image: http://www.wickedcampers.com.au . Our web designer, Budi, has done an amazing job!

- We're giving away free 5 day roadtrips from Brisbane to either Alice Springs or Adelaide. Simply join Sister Cassie at Birdie Num Nums on Sep 28 for a one-hour focus group.

- Join the Wicked Nullabor Links convoy and play the longest golf course in the world.

- Had an amazing roadtrip? Submit your best roadtrip story and you could win a 7 day Wicked roadtrip, a Panasonic Camcorder, two memory cards and 10 double passes to Stone Bros. "the first full-blooded Oz comedy in eons" (Empire).

I also received some nice feedback from a travel agent in Cairns who used her free Wicked days (book 7 days and get 1 day of Wicked hire for your own use) for a roadtrip in Adelaide. Here is her feedback:

"Would just like to say thankyou very much for allowing me a camper while i was in Adelaide! The camper was great and a MASSIVE hit with the likes of my Mum, Dad, brother etc haha. LOVE LOVE LOVE the Wicked laugh's adults only book!! haha some great stuff in there. The guy (cant remember his name :() who runs the ashop in Adelaide was awesome...giving me stickers and all sorts of things :) So i intend to make a Wicked display with ALL the stickers done up on a box or something like that!! Thanks once again! Have a great day"

"A Wicked van is all you need"

George and Maureen from the UK popped into the Broome depot to get their Wicked van serviced. After a quick chat to them, I discovered that they had rented a van for 10 months -- which must be a Wicked record! This is their 3rd Wicked hire in Australia. Both are huge Bob Dylan fans so they got the bloke painted all over their vehicle (it was either Bob, or Manchester United).

I interviewed them both and will post up that video next week, but here's a sneak peak of the song George wrote and performed at our Broome depot as a tribute to Wicked Campers. Its called 'A Wicked Van is all you need'.

Lyrics:
A Wicked van is all you need
From Sydney Harbour, to Monkey Mia
From Kakadu to Uluru
A Wicked van is all you need.

The Virgin Van

Here's a video audition clip I created for a competition to drive Richard Branson around Sydney for a day (http://virginmoney.com.au/driving-sir-richard). Oh yeah, you also get to hang out with him in the Virgin pits at the F1 in Singapore too. Not a bad prize.

If you're a Wicked customer please do not perform any of these stunts while out on your roadtrip (driving on the beach, sitting on the van!)! Highly illegal and we'll suck your bond.

Yes I know I'm not the greatest role model, but those stunts did make for a good camera shot :)

Wicked World Cup 2010

Nick from Wicked Africa gave me a call last week about his plans for the World Cup in 2010. I went to Germany back in 2006 and had some great times:

Here's Nick message to encourage you all over in 2010.

The 2010 World Cup is shaping up to be an absolute extravaganza and here at Wicked we have been working hard to make it the most memorable experience of your life! Our Campers have everything you need to eat, sleep and travel to all the Games. Unlimited kilometres and an upfront price gives you the re-assurance that you are sorted for the world’s biggest sporting event.

There are plans on the table to have Campsites close to Game venues, with a shuttle service to the games. We will also have Wicked Discounts for activities you may wish to do whilst here.

There is a genuine shortage of accommodation and vehicles expected for the World Cup, and Wicked have a limited amount of vehicles available.
With over 1,000 Requests in the past year alone we suggest that you book early to avoid disappointment.

Our bookings for the world cup require a 30% deposit to confirm, with the balance to be paid by the 1st April 2010.

We appreciate the patience you have shown us in the past months and to say thank you for this, we wish to offer you a special discount. If you are booking for a Thirty Plus day Adventure with the majority of this time in the World Cup period then you qualify for a Wicked Discount. Simply enter the words world cup in the promo field of the booking engine on our site ( http://www.wickedafrica.com/fifa_soccer_world_cup.htm ). This offer is valid for a limited amount of time and is subject to availability.

Those that have booked using this promotion code enter the draw to have their Wicked Camper personalised with their own Design at no additional cost.

So get cracking and take advantage of this amazing early bird discount!!!!!!

Yours in all that is Wicked and Fun,

Lula (Wicked Africa)

Loyal and smile

Ok I admit, my last post entry was lame. It was a last-5-minute-at-work-blog-entry since I've been super busy being an evangelist! I won't bore readers with the gory details, but some of the tasks include I've been helping our web developer Budi(licious) with content updates/audits to the new Wicked Campers website (which looks exceptional by the way, good stuff Budi); creating a new Wicked agent manual; organising training for the agents at the Broome Visitors Centre; editing a new Wicked loop DVD; ordering new Wicked country stickers and in amongst it all, talking to my mates in China about ordering new Wicked merchandise.

I was looking to order some Wicked hats from China the other day and sent off some prospective emails to suppliers over there. Here's a lovely email I received back from Amy at Guangzhou Kaavie Cap Co Ltd.

"Dear Ms Leanne, Thanks so much for your message in our website. please send us your caps's pictures,so that we could quote a exact price. These are the pictures about our factory. please see them in attached at your convenience. Hope can cooperate with you .

loyal&smile.
Amy"

Loyal and smile. What a terrific parting message. It beats 'Cheers'!
Oh and here are the photos from Amy's factory...

Sparking dreams around the world

Seems like someone else has taken the 'round the world' Wicked Campers roadtrip philosophy to heart!

Look what I spotted in Broome town today.

This family (yes, a family with 3 yound children!!) have driven from Argentina to Alaska and are now covering Asia. You can track their progress on their world roadtrip blog - sparkyourdream.net .

In transit

It's a day off for the Evangelist today. I'm currently in transit from Brisbane to Broome and am waiting patiently for my Perth flight in the comfort of the Qantas Club, Perth. They have pumpkin soup, salad rolls, pretzels and FREE BOOZE on offer!

What an incredible distance to travel though. I had a flight to Sydney that left at 7.30am this morning. My connecting flight from Sydney to Perth left at 9.50am and took 5 hrs and 15 mins. Now I'm waiting another 2 hrs for my connecting flight to Broome...

I wasn't the only one thinking that was a little extreme...when I checked into Qantas this morning, this is how the conversation with the middle-aged Qantas guy went:

Qantas Man: So you're flying to Sydney today?
Me: No - Broome!
Qantas Man: Oh my gosh. You're travelling all around Australia today! I wonder why they did that?
Me: Yeah....me too
Qantas Man: What do you do over in Broome, work?
Me: Yup
Qantas Man: What sort of work?
Me: I work for a campervan rental company called Wicked Campers, you know, those grafitti'd up campervans...
Qantas Man (interrupts): Oh my god I love them! Last year I saw one with a funny quote...it said "Women want many thing from one man, but...
Me: Men want one thing from many women??
(we both crack up).

We continue to talk about Wicked for 10 mins. This guy was certainly the Wicked fan, a 'roaming evangelist'. He said he rang up Mr Wicked last year and asked if he could go into the Valley depot and take pics of all our vans. He was super excited to meet an Evangelist- it was truly great feedback to hear and it snapped me out of my grumpy morning mood!

The new face of Wicked

Our former Wicked Campers Depots Guru/Captain Amazing went on a glamour photo rampage earlier this year and posted the photos up on his Facebook account! Many of his female fans...I mean friends wrote positive feedback on his site, so we decided to take his most popular image and use it to promote our campervans:


I've also been in contact with Kenneth, The Thirsty Swagman who runs The World's Biggest Pub Crawl (check out his website, sooo damn cool). I originally heard about these World Pub Crawls in an email forward I received from a mate after a particularly huge night. I was inspired. It is such an amazing idea (and a logistical nightmare if you're trying to do it yourself, imagine how many flights you would miss)- 60 pubs, 12 countries, 4 continents, 25 days. Kenneth saw the article written about Mr Wicked in "The West Australian" and also loved the Wicked culture, so we're trying to work out ways in which our companies can pair up - Wicked vans on an All-Australian pub crawl? Pub crawls from Brisbane to London? But for starters this week our Wicked grafitti dude painted them up a van:



Wicked one-liner on the back: "If you're not wasted for a week, you've wasted a week"

The Thirsty Swagman loves it! "Leanne, this is unreal!!!!! Truly awesome, haha. I’m totally stoked! Can you tell me how I can get a carton of beer to your graphic artist? Name and address, and it’ll be shipped on Monday. Special brew it shall be."

You wouldn't expect anything less from The Thirsty Swagman!

Bye Bye Michael Jackson

Wicked Campers have decided its time to say farewell to Michael Jackson so we've taken our Michael Jackson special - "Moonwalk into any of our Wicked depots dressed up as Michael Jackson to get your first day of hire for free" off the shelves.

Here are some photos of the Michael Jackson's that graced our Brisbane depot.





Whilst its said to say goodbye to the special its not all doom and goom. The Wicked staff morale booking "NAKED SPECIAL" is back on! Show up naked to get your first day for free!

I'm back in Brisbane working in the Evangelism office this week, meeting our new Evangelists (Brother Mark and Sister Cassie) and Budi(licious) the IT guy, chewing the fat with Mr Wicked, Jerome, and the Wicked roadtrip planners, and catching up on the last few months of Wicked Evangelising with Sisters Mary and Sam.

Troopy photo shoot

The only Wicked Landcruiser we have currently is our Broome depot drive-car "The Dragon", so I took some locals out on the road yesterday to shoot some pics for our new Wicked brochures that will promote the Alice Springs 4WD package.




I'm flying back to Brisbane tonight and will be working back in 'The Vegas' for the week next week. Will be great to meet the new Evangelists and catch up with the old school Wicked crew!

Wicked Troop Carriers

Uluru. The Red Centre. Its a place you can't miss when you're on the trek Down Under.

In July 2008 I took a 7 day Alice Springs Wicked roadtrip with my fellow Evangelists Camilla, Farley and Dave. In our 4WD Delicas we stormed through Rainbow Valley, Uluru, The Olgas, Kings Canyon and the Meereenie Loop Road back to Alice Springs. It was the first time any of us had driven a 4WD and after 10mins of our first dirt road we were self-proclaimed dirt track experts (of course, always keeping the advice to take it slow, avoid driving from dusk-dawn and swerving for animals in our minds at all times!).

Self-drive is a great way to see the country and there are some great 4WD self-drive tours currently available in Fraser Island, but nothing for the outback. Wicked is stepping in to fill the gap and will start to offer 3 day/ 5 day self-drive tours from Alice Springs to Uluru and back, via Kings Canyon. Instead of the Mitsubishi Delica we'll be renting out robust Toyota Landcruiser's or "Troopy's" which cater for between 4-10 people.

It's something that you've just gotta do when you're in Australia - grab a bunch of mates, high-tail it to Alice Springs, watch the sunrise and set over Uluru, take photos with roadkill, climb Kings Canyon and drink with the locals.

To view Part 1 of our outback adventure, click here.

Talkin' bout my generation

The other evening I caught up with Ralph, who runs Australian Wilderness Tours. I met Ralph at the Australian Tourism Exchange in Melbourne earlier this year - he's a big Wicked fan. Ralph was in Broome, taking his entourage of older women (average age of 60) in a 4WD luxury tour from Darwin to Broome via the Gibb River Road. We arranged to catch up this week, and I joined the women for wine and cheese whilst watching the Cable Beach sunset.


It was great joining the group. After living here for a few months you take the extraordinary sunsets for granted, but when you watch the sunset with other's for the first time you remember how lucky you are to experience this every day.








The women were from an international organisation called the 5W's - "Women Welcome Women World Wide. This is a network open to all women and aims to encourage travelling to foreign countries independently. On their website it states "a 5W member can make new friends in foreign lands or just around the corner, travel to far-flung places or enjoy having guests in her own home. Travelling with 5W is a safer way.Imagine having a network of friends wherever you go - having another woman to meet you at the airport when you arrive in a new country - its reassuring in a land far from home."


The tour ended today in Broome and two of the women from 5W - Dora (German) and Marie (Queenslander) came to pick up a Wicked Camper for their roadtrip to Perth. We gave them the John Lennon van and they loved the quote on the back "If only men were as satisfying as chocolate". We had a copy of the Beatles #1 CD so we threw it in for them too - they loved it!

Being from an older generation they took certain precautions while travelling and even asked us to keep a copy of their roadtrip itinerary (which they were also handing to Broome police before setting off tomorrow), just in case something unusual occured on the road. We've promised to call them a couple times during their roadie to say g'day. I asked the ladies "Why Wicked?" and Dora explained that she's giving Wicked a go as she's thinking of buying an ex-Wicked van when she flies over to the east coast month. I hope when I'm 60 I'm still as adventurous as these two ladies!

Jim's Brazilians

Our Wicked customer who was hospitalised last week (read ‘Wicked on Fire" post below) survived her dehydration ordeal and is on a flight to Cairns. She brought me a bottle of wine in gratitude for the ride to the Broome hospital (very muchly appreciated!). She also returned one of the most photographed vans in our fleet, "Jim's Brazilians" to the Broome depot.

For those who don't know about Jim's Mowing, check out his website.

We actually had one of the real life ‘Jim’s in the van back in June – here’s a story received from a Wicked customer:

“Another person in our group that hired a Wicked Van from Cairns recently owns a 'Jim's lawnmowing' business. When i saw the 'Jim's Brazilians' van on your website, i thought it would be great if he got that one.

I was sitting at the back of my van cooking my dinner, at the festival, when he pulled up beside me - in the 'Jim's Brazilians' van!! I fell off my camp stool laughing!! The best bit was, he wasn't supposed to get that van but it was switched when he picked it up.. and he hadn't mentioned it when they gave it to him.. :)”

Its amazing what a stir this van creates, its word-of-mouth marketing in itself! Check out some of the following websites:

http://modifiedcarforums.com/forums/humour-media/5365-franchise-opportunity.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greentea/3204832694/
http://www.mycolours.com.au/Image.aspx?i=714606

http://www.cathellis.com/2007/02/jims-brazilians/

Of course I’m a huge Jim’s fan and had to get a photo taken with the superstar van before the Broome Cup races on Saturday.

Love your work Jim.

Wicked Nullabor 7-day special?

Nullabor Links, the world's biggest golf course is opening to the public on August 15. Its in Australia and situated on the Nullabor, stretching from Ceduna S.A. to Kalgoorlie WA.

The course is 1365km long and the official website states that the course will take an average of 4 days to complete!

The best part is that after playing all 18 holes you get a free certificate that says “You have played the World’s Longest Golf course.” A must for any golf-enthusiasts pool-room.

The official opening of the course will be in October but Mark, our super depot manager in Melbourne has a great idea to organise a Wicked rally/convoy headed over for the opening - maybe a 7 day special from Adelaide to Perth and vice versa. Keep posted to this blog and wickedcampers.com for more info!

Great Ocean Roadie

James, the editor of itravel.net took a Wicked Camper on his roadie from Melbourne to Adelaide. He left some great comments on his blog - "I had only been parked for half an hour and I spotted a wallaby by the campsite. The camping area was right on the beach so I could hear the ocean as I lay in bed. You wouldn't experience that on a bus".

Read the rest of his write-up on his popular blog i-Travel.net: http://www.itravelnet.com/blog/notes.html

I'd like to also warmly thank the following couple for sending me this warm and fuzzy email today:

"Hi we had a great time travelling from Broome to Darwin in one of your vans. We got a day's free travel 'cause we turned up naked in the Broome office but we never got a copy of the photo. We booked on the 13th March 2009. Is there any chance of you sending me a copy of the photo that was made in front of the van (e.g. per e-mail). We would be wrapped. Thanks and thanks for a really great trip".

Here are the happy couple ready to embark on their roadtrip of a lifetime!

Wicked on Fire!

My Friday started well in the Wicked depot...we had a lovely med student from Fitzroy return his van and he had only praise for our staff in Darwin and his roadtrip. Here he is popping his Wicked "Customers 4 Life" survey in our pimped out survey box.

We also had some Swiss boys pickup a van, they're on their way to Darwin on the Gibb River Road.

It was a great day at Wicked. No fuss customers, lots of time to evangelise on the web...but then disaster struck.

A wild-fire spread across the road from the Broome depot around noon today. As I ran up to investigate, a local tv journo from GWN stopped me in my tracks and asked for an eye-witness account of the natural disaster.

After the high of being on regional television, I thought my day was going splendidly. I plugged away on my Wicked tasks and then Chris received a phone-call at 3pm. A few Wicked girls had a van that was stuck in third gear at a caravan park. Fortunately it was just down the road, so we hopped in the Wicked rescue-mobile and picked their van up. The two of the girls were worried about their mate, who looked like she was seriously ill. I checked them into the local pistol club (all caravan parks were full) and the woman on guard took a look at the sick girl and told us to rush her to hospital -- she was suffering from severe dehydration!

The rescue-mobile turned into an ambulance and we shot off to the Broome hospital. I returned to the depot and the girl's swapped into their new van (Jim's Brazillian van, the best one in the fleet!). They'll be returning their van to Broome next week so I look forward to hearing how the rest of their day went.

Anyway - I have to cut this blog entry short as I must dash home to watch myself on the 5.30pm news...

Mrs Wicked's Wisdom

After sending out lots of emails to our Australian agents this week, I’ve received some compliments regarding Mrs Wicked’s Wisdom, agents who have said the wisdom has “brightened their day” or is “soooo true”!

To those unfortunate souls who have yet to receive an email from a Wicked Employee, try and nab one! All Wicked staff members have an email signature that includes a weekly quote chosen by Mrs Wicked (one of the creators of Wicked Campers).

After working for a big multi-national company (where we had a boring, stifling email signature), its refreshing to have these unique and inspiring quotes sent out each week and I look forward to receiving the updates.

Here are some of my favourites:

"Life is not perfect; it never will be. You just have to make the very best of it and open your heart to what the world can show you. Sometimes it's terrifying and sometimes it's incredibly beautiful. And I'll take both, thanks." - Graham Nash

"Learn to ask questions. It is always better to ask questions than to make assumptions. Have the courage to ask questions until you are as clear as you can be. Once you hear the answer to a question, you won't have to make assumptions because you will know the truth."

Ask for what you want. Find the courage to ask for what you want. Others have the right to tell you yes or no but you always have the right to ask. Likewise, everybody has the right to ask you for what they want, and you have the right to say yes or no.

Eliminate gossip. Making assumptions is a setup for suffering because we usually gossip about our assumptions. We make assumptions and believe we are right, then we defend our assumptions and try to make others wrong.

While we're on an inspirational note, here are some good books/sites that have inspired me in the last few months.

The Power of Now/ A New Earth – Eckart Tolle
A Complaint Free World

But hey - this can’t be a Wicked blog entry if its full of rainbows, butterflies, sausage dogs (running through sprinklers) and chocolate waterfalls. One Wicked employee (not mentioning any names) once received this in a response to an outgoing email:

"If this still doesn't "sit" with your policy then let me know and I'll look elsewhere. With all respect maybe you need to take a bit of your own advice -

Mrs Wicked’s Wisdom:
Don't take anything personally. Relinquish self importance. Self importance, or taking things personally is the maximum expression of selfishness because we make the assumption that everything is about ''me.''

Happy Tuesday!

Unfortunately, nothing too funny to report today. I've spent some time informing our west-coast agencies know how many free Wicked Campers days they've received so far. We're still offering all our agencies the following incentive

"For every 7 days of Wicked Camper hire you book, receive 1 day of Wicked Camper hire anywhere in the world!" Such an exciting incentive. I've had a few agents write back some nice feedback:

"Thanks i might use it soon thinking of a road trip yay! Would it be available for the east coast?"

"Can we use this whenever? Or does it expire? How exciting- I plan to travel the world with Wicked ;-) literally :-) So we will keep booking and keep saving hehehe. 32 Days- only 333days to save for hahaha".

Today being a Tuesday has been full of hope, but little has flourished today...

- I was looking forward to receiving the RedFM jingle today (Red FM are writing up a jingle for our radio advertising), however it’s not going to be ready till Thursday. The guy that wrote the jingle sang it himself and it apparently sounds like a cool punk song - ‘Sex Pistols’ mated with 'Arctic Monkeys'. Cannot wait to hear it!

- Melissa Doyle from Channel 7's Sunrise replied to our quote request and said "You guys seem to have this covered pretty well. Not sure my fave quote would be of value! Thanks for asking though."

- No one has moonwalked through our depot walls dressed up as Michael Jackson. Truly devastating. Maybe tomorrow? Here's hope!

- On a lovely note, Surfin Steve uploaded his latest clip surfin' on Moreton Island. There's also some nudity and some great Wicked sticker product placement in the video. You can view it here.

This Tuesday jogged my memory of a hilarious email forward I received a while ago (though my day has been pretty good and I'm fortunate to be in a job where I look forward to work each day).

FAIRFAX NEWS LIMITED

TUESDAY, 28 JULY 2009

After running a thousand errands, working hours of overtime, and beingstuck in seemingly endless gridlock traffic commuting to and from theirjobs, millions of Australians were disheartened to learn that it was, infact, only Tuesday.

"Tuesday?" Canberra resident Doris Wagner said. "How in the hell is it still Tuesday?"

Tuesday's arrival stunned a nation still recovering from the nightmarishslog that was Monday, leaving some to wonder if the week was ever going to end, and others to ask what was taking Saturday so damn long.

"Ugh," said Wagner, echoing a national sense of frustration over it not even being Wednesday at the very least. According to suddenly depressed sources, the feeling that this week may in fact last forever was further compounded by the thought of all thework left to be done tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and, if Australians make it that far, possibly even Friday, for goodness sake.

"Not only do Australians have most of Tuesday morning to contend with,but all of Tuesday afternoon and then Tuesday night," National Labor Relations Board spokesman David Prynn said. "If our calculations are correct, there is a chance we are in effect closer to last weekend than the one coming up."

Added Prynn: "F**k."

Reports that this all has to be some kind of sick joke could not beconfirmed as of press time. Isolated attempts to make the day go faster, such as glancing at watchesor clocks every other minute, compulsively checking e-mail, hiding inthe office bathroom, fidgeting, or reading a boring magazine whilesitting in the waiting room, have also proven unsuccessful, sources report.

Labor Secretary Elaine Chao released a statement addressing widespread speculation that it might as well be Monday for all anyone cares."We understand this day has been tough on many of you, what with meetings mercilessly dragging on and an entire stack of files still left to organise," Chao's statement read in part. "Yet we urge Australians to show patience. The midweek hump is just around the corner, and we have strong reason to believe that Saturday will be here before you know it."

"Go about your lives as best you can," the statement continued. "Do not,we repeat, do not take a sick day, as it'll make the rest of the week that much harder to endure."

Wicked Wisdom from Wil Anderson

Funny man Wil Anderson (stand-up comedian, host of ABC's 'The Gruen Transfer' and 'The Glasshouse' -- some of my favourite shows) submitted his Wicked wisdom today.


"Just saw in the paper you can get $25 for donating sperm. The ultimate cash in hand job..."

"Every time I hear NASA has sent an "unmanned probe" into space, it sounds like something lesbians use to get pregnant"...

"I love when you can still see the moon in the morning. Feels like it pulled an all-nighter and decided to stay up."

Huge thanks to Wil for the quotes, love them!

Our wannabe surfer, Surfin Steve has released his latest installment out where he aims to pash 69 girls in the one night at Surfers Paradise. It's a seemingly easy feat for the almost blonde, almost Aussie. Watch Steve get lucky here.

Onya Wozza

I've been seeking contact with a variety of Australian icons/celebrities asking them to supply their own original one-liner for our new Wicked vans (see blog post below).

I checked my inbox this morning and would like to thank Warwick Capper, the former Sydney Swans AFL player/porn star/politician for being THE FIRST celebrity to email me his wicked words of wisdom.

He sent me the following quote:

"Wicked Campers You Beauty the Wizard Warwick Capper".

He also mentioned he'll think up some more and send them in the next few days. Look forward to it. His official website also mentions that he can perform at Bucks and Hens nights for $1500 - I reckon he's selling himself short!!

My favourite quote that I received today was from David Lutteral, or "Luttsy" from the Nova 106.9 morning show (Brisbane) and The Footy Show (NRL). Luttsy provided me with this pearler of advice:

"Always BE YOURSELF; unless being someone else makes you more popular. "

Luttsy also loved the Warwick Capper quote and remarked "HaHa !! That's our Warwick !!!! Wait til you hear the rest of them!! I bet the word 'Capper' is mentioned in every one!! "

We're not only seeking input from celebrities. Former Wicked agent/mechanic Richard Hawkins (based in Alice Springs) has put his thinking cap on and I've also enlisted the help of Daniel, a local Broome truckie to gather up some wisdom from the truckie community. Fellow bloggers, ministers, pre-school teachers, streetsweepers, politicians, go-go dancers - I implore you to submit your quotes to us...you'll be spreading your wisdom all over Australia!

200 original one-liners

Wicked started back in 2000 with second-hand commercial vehicles and in 2009 we're phasing out our oldest vehicles (*tear*...you usually have the greatest adventure in our older vans) and putting 200 brand-spanking new vans on the road.

With brand-spanking new vehicles comes the need for new one-liners and new artwork.

We're inviting a variety of Australian celebrities/writers to conjure up and submit their favourite quotes for the back of our vans. We want fresh stuff from a selection of Aussie icons (none of the recycled-quotes you find on the web). So far I've been in touch with the likes of Kevin Bloody Wilson, Rolf Harris, and Hamish and Andy...it will be interesting to see who takes us up on the offer!

We're also inviting 10-20 artists to spraypaint vans for us with their original artwork. If you're an artist and would like your artwork on display all around Australia, let us know by emailing evangelism@wickedcampers.com .

All Around the World

In keeping with Wicked world domination theme, I attended the Kimberley Klub's "Around the World" party last night. Wicked were a sponsor of the evening, providing a Wicked Camper voucher + other Wicked goodies (lanyards, ticklers, etc) for the best dressed partier - you had to come dressed in the national dress of a country of your choice. I grabbed an old bedsheet, cut out some wallpaper and called myself Cleopatra - but I must've missed the target as everyone was calling me Pocahontas all evening...

Here are some pics from the night.

In the green: Former Wicked hirer! She returned her van that day after a 7-day Broome to Broome roadie.

Thanks to the fantastic crew at Kimberley Klub YHA for organising such a wicked party!

Wish you were here

Our Wicked Grafitti Artist visited us in Broome to paint up our depots 'Wish you were here' wall. Here's a pic of our first customers against the Broome wall.

He also had time to pop into the Kimberley Klub, Broome to grace their walls with some Wicked grafitti. I'll be back in the Kimberley Klub tomorrow evening for their 'Around the World' party...Wicked and Fosters are sponsoring the evening and giving out lanyards, stickers, ticklers and other assorted treats.

Speaking of parties our second Wicked Revival party will be held in Perth next month. We have joined up with Red FM and sponsored their Red FM listener party. It'll be held on August 3 and we're inviting current and ex-Wicked customers. If you like free booze and free love, email evangelism@wickedcampers.com for all the sordid details!

The Michael Jackson

It's out with the old and in with the new.

We have officially scrapped the "Wicked Campers Naked Special" and brought out "The Michael Jackson" special. About 5mins after I wrote my previous post (see below), Mr Wicked called and told me all about it - I couldn't stop laughing all evening. I love it, I love it, I love it!

Here's the deal (thanks to Sister Sam for the artwork).

It's time to learn how to moonwalk!
Or you can get some tips from Navi, the world's best Michael Jackson impersonator.
But please don't moonwalk into our depots looking like this guy.

Round-the-world Roadtrips

A pretty cool thing about working for an outrageous global company is that you can offer seriously fun incentives to get vans moving. Here is just a selection of the incentives we've previously offered potential Wicked customers

- Free spankings on pickup (one elderly German woman didn't know what a spanking was, presented her voucher and was shaken up when our depot girl walked to the other side of the counter and slapped her. Lightly of course.)

- 4.7% discounts on hires (because a 5% discount is boring)

- Free bottle of champagne if you flash your boobs (the popular prequel to the naked special)

- "If you're over the age of 60 leave your clothes on to receive a free day of hire" (we received a complaint from a 61 year old who was offended by the offer and sent us a video clip of himself in support of his defence)

The latest offer we're issuing in New Zealand isn't as quirky but its bloody good for anyone who has a round-the-world plane ticket!

Hire a Wicked van for 7 days or more and receive a bonus of 22 days of Wicked hire across the globe to use in the next two years. The offer is valid for a limited time only in the following countries:

5 days free x AUSTRALIA (one-way hires from Sydney or Brisbane to Cairns)
5 days free x CHILE (anytime)
3 days free x THAILAND (anytime)
3 days free x UK/Europe (between Nov – Mar)
3 days free x USA/Canada (between Oct – April excluding Feb 5 – Mar 7 2010)
3 days free x SOUTH AFRICA (anytime, except June 1 – July 11 2010)

Once Richard Branson starts flying to the moon we'll start offering 3 days free there too...

Your words on a van

When I spotted a blog entry last month written by Michelle Phillips about a Wicked van with the following saying "If God were a woman would sperm taste like chocolate?", I gave her the opportunity to come up with her own Wicked quote.

The winning quote was "Keep honking - I'm reloading my gun". Here it is in all its glory, recently spraypainted by our Wicked artist in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.

Michelle I hope this van hits your local IGA sometime soon...

Roadtrip to Rotorua

This video probably won't be as popular with the American middle age gay community (see posting below), but nevertheless it's the newest installment from the Wicked Evangelists, who had a quick pit-stop in Rotorua, New Zealand! What an amazing town.

Click here to view the video.

Special thanks to Kaitiaki Adventures (whitewater rafting), Hells Gate Thermal Park (mud baths) and Tamaki Village (maori cultural experience). Don't miss Rotorua on your next Wicked roadtrip...so much fun in one afternoon!

Our new target market?

I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I quickly logged into our YouTube account and saw that 900 people had watched the ‘Wicked Campers naked challenge’ video since I last checked (the previous evening). Fortunately YouTube has an insights link where you can view the demographics of your viewers and which pages are linking to the video.

Our biggest hit rate came from the USA! Weird, we’ve only just opened up there and the majority of our customers are Europeans and Australians? The “average profile” of our viewers were males between 45-55. Odd too, as our market are usually backpackers (60% female) between the ages of 18-35.

The penny suddenly dropped when I viewed which pages were linking to us. They were an assortment of blogs dedicated to naked men and gay love. The penny probably should’ve dropped earlier when I read this comment about our camera work:

"I mean, come on..show them naked and stop cutting off their sweet asses, it makes no sense. Find a focus point that is lower. People wanna see more ass, not more sky!!! and tell them to stop running so fast from the camera. it's pointless..linger the camera more on the asses and bodies please..”

With YouTube bestowing the video the following honours:
#3 - Top Favorited (This Week) - Travel & Events - Australia
#12 - Top Favorited (This Month) - Travel & Events - Australia
#33 - Most Viewed (This Month) - Travel & Events - Australia
#49 - Most Discussed (This Week) - Travel & Events - Australia
#61 - Top Rated (This Month) - Travel & Events - Australia

...I guess it really does prove the theory that sex sells!

Roadie: Broome to Perth

Had some regrets in Broome?


Leave town in a Wicked Camper!

At the moment we're doing a very funky special at the moment, no one-way fees if you book a roadtrip from Broome to Perth (saving of $200).

If you've embarassed yourself in Darwin and want to get the hell out of there too, call us for a good deal! 1800 24 68 69 or text 0438 096 250.